so, in case y'all missed my post elsewhere, recently my hubby & I made the breakfast veggie chorizo from VwAV and my hubby literally swooned for it (me too!). he has had real chorizo before and said Isa's vegan version was pretty much just like the real deal :) later this evening he told me he was CRAVING IT (eep!!!)

i wasn't sure he'd like the texture of TVP but he does, so know I want to make some more recipes that feature TVP as a primary ingredient. I buy TVP bulk and I buy the "small granule" kind.

Question 1: Has anyone bought the larger, chunk style TVP? If so, how did you like it? Hubby mentioned he'd like to make a bbq TVP and I'm think the chunk TVP might be more like pulled pork. I have not seen the chunk style TVP in the bulk bins so I will need to see if I can find it packaged. (neither of us are interested in trying tempeh or seitan)

Question 2: Does anyone have any awesome TVP recipes for me to try? If so please share online links. I did stumble upon a recipe for TVP sausage patties (see link below) which I know we are going to try, and Vegan Diner has a chili recipe featuring TVP. Any other goodies to try? (I have the following vegan cookbooks: VWaV, Vegan Diner, Party Vegan, Quick Fix Vegan, Meat & Potatoes Vegetarian Cookbook [has vegan options], Cookin' Crunk, Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day and a few others that are vegetarian).

I used the larger chunky TVP in a black bean fejoda/stew (the one in Viva Vegan) and I liked it a lot, it had a nice chewy texture in the stew. I've never used it in anything other than the stew though. I'm not a big TVP user (not because I don't like it--but I'm not supposed to eat too much soy) so I don't have a ton of experience with it other than making veggie burgers and the VwaV chorizo which you've made.

Oat or wheat bran (I'm not actually sure what it is specifically, actually. I'm not someone who really knows backgrounds about foods, I really just eat it but someone else will prolly know) but you should be able to find it in the hot cereal section of major supermarkets and sometimes where they sell the cornmeal and stuffs. But near the oatmeals--it's usually there in the store.

I've seen wheat and oat brans in bulk bins at some point. Not every where though.

_________________"I'm sorry! I'm Canadian!"

Last edited by seitanicverses on Thu Nov 01, 2012 9:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Soy curls are similar to chunk TVP but way better, in my opinion. I'm curious about your reasons for avoiding tempeh and seitan? Also oat bran and wheat bran shouldn't be that hard to come by, I bet they are actually hiding in your bulk bins somewhere.

_________________"No one with hair so soft and glossy could ever be bad at anything." - Tofulish

I used the larger chunky TVP in a black bean fejoda/stew (the one in Viva Vegan) and I liked it a lot, it had a nice chewy texture in the stew. I've never used it in anything other than the stew though. I'm not a big TVP user (not because I don't like it--but I'm not supposed to eat too much soy) so I don't have a ton of experience with it other than making veggie burgers and the VwaV chorizo which you've made.

We aren't huge TVP users either. I've been vegan since August and this is the first time we've used TVP.

strawberryrock wrote:

Soy curls are similar to chunk TVP but way better, in my opinion. I'm curious about your reasons for avoiding tempeh and seitan? Also oat bran and wheat bran shouldn't be that hard to come by, I bet they are actually hiding in your bulk bins somewhere.

no real reason for avoiding tempeh or seitan. they just seem "weird" to me even though I know exactly what they are ;) I recently used wheat gluten in a bean ball recipe recently and that was a big deal to me since I consider vital wheat gluten an exotic ingredient ;)

also, I'm not sure if my natural foods store sells soy curls. what exactly are they? are they hard to find?

Amajorrecords wrote:

Just this week we have made the sloppy joes from Vegan Diner and the meat(less) ball subs from vegan sandwiches save the day. Both were great but the meatballs were the favorite!

thanks for the tip, didn't know the meat(less) subs from VSSTD used TVP.

_________________"....but I finally found block tempeh a few weeks ago with the intent to give it my virginity." -Moon

I like the small tvp granules, but personally don't like the texture of the larger chunks. If you can get your hands on soy curls, I'd recommend those instead. I've used them for pulled pork type sandwiches, so I think they'd be more like what you were hoping for.

The most common thing i use TVP for is sloppy joes. I use a modified version of the recipe from How It All Vegan, but I'm betting you can find TVP sloppy joe recipes online. You might also check out Joni Newman's blog. Her cookbooks have some good ideas for TVP and she has some recipes posted on her blog: http://justthefood.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html

no real reason for avoiding tempeh or seitan. they just seem "weird" to me even though I know exactly what they are ;) I recently used wheat gluten in a bean ball recipe recently and that was a big deal to me since I consider vital wheat gluten an exotic ingredient ;)

Honestly, seitan and tempeh, to a lesser extent, are so much better than TVP it's not even funny. Making seitan at home is not hard and it's very rewarding.

Soy curls can be difficult to find because they're not really sold in any big stores yet. You can buy them from online vegan stores (VE, Vegan Store, Food Fight) or from the Butler company (they make soy curls) http://www.butlerfoods.com/. I highly recommend them.

_________________"...anarchists only want to burn cars and punch cops."- nickvicious"We'll be eating our own words 30 years from now when we're demanding our legislators outlaw aerosol-based cyber dildo-wielding death holograms."- Brian

I love tvp and so does my omni partner! We like to add the large chunks to black bean enchiladas in mole. There is a recipe in v'con called Cholent, that calls for them. I'm not sure that I like the seasoning in that recipe, but I did love the texture. I like small tvp for making meatless balls, glued together with VWG, or added to tomato sauce.

_________________"We are simple people, my husband is a mechanic with dirty hands, my daughter is a blue haired lesbian who's favorite activity is making people uncomfortable." - torque

Question 2: Does anyone have any awesome TVP recipes for me to try? If so please share online links. I did stumble upon a recipe for TVP sausage patties (see link below) which I know we are going to try, and Vegan Diner has a chili recipe featuring TVP. Any other goodies to try? (I have the following vegan cookbooks: VWaV, Vegan Diner, Party Vegan, Quick Fix Vegan, Meat & Potatoes Vegetarian Cookbook [has vegan options], Cookin' Crunk, Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day and a few others that are vegetarian).

The beefy cheese-y mac from Hearty Vegan Meals is one of my favorite ways to use the small chunk TVP.

wow, thanks y'all so much for all the comments and links to recipes! it's much appreciated!

Butternut wrote:

bookwormbethie wrote:

no real reason for avoiding tempeh or seitan. they just seem "weird" to me even though I know exactly what they are ;) I recently used wheat gluten in a bean ball recipe recently and that was a big deal to me since I consider vital wheat gluten an exotic ingredient ;)

Honestly, seitan and tempeh, to a lesser extent, are so much better than TVP it's not even funny. Making seitan at home is not hard and it's very rewarding.

oh i believe you ;) I have no idea why I am having trouble getting over my fear of tempeh and seitan. i think tempeh makes me nervous because i've been advised to steam it for 10 or so minutes to help get rid of any bitterness. so know that tempeh may be bitter to mine or my hubby's tastebuds makes me nervous, plus it would be a big bummer if we spent the time to make a dish featuring tempeh and then both found it sadly not to our liking. but hey, things like that happen. and "wheat meat" just doesn't sound very yummy, although ages and ages and ages ago i tried the riblets from gardenburger (not sure if they are vegan as i wasn't a vegan then) and they were sooo good. i'm guessing the riblets were seitan based......

_________________"....but I finally found block tempeh a few weeks ago with the intent to give it my virginity." -Moon

I don't think tempeh is necessarily "better," it's just another tasty protein option. I can say I've had good tempeh and not so good tempeh. I don't find the Lightlife three grain tempeh to be very bitter, and their smoky tempeh strips (aka "fakin' bacon") are also delicious. There's a local (to me) company that makes tempeh and tofu, and I want to love them, but man, their tempeh is BITTER.

I guess the point of all that was: if you do try tempeh and find it not so good, don't write it off right away because it could be the brand!

_________________"I feel like it's not a real political discussion if I'm not morally opposed to something I don't understand." - ndpittman

Oh, I should mention it can be the same for seitan, too, since there are so many ways to prepare it. My favs (which are also the easiest, IMO) are the Italian sausages in Vegan Brunch and the white seitan in Viva Vegan. Both recipes are steamed first, and then taste awesome diced and sauteed in a little oil.

I'm also a big soy curl fan but you need to order a few bags to make the shipping cost worthwhile. If you're not sure about them you could split an order with another PPKer near you (if there is one), though honestly if you like TVP you'll definitely like soy curls, too! They're dehydrated just like TVP so they can be prepared the same way, though they're much larger chunks - they're very chicken-y in texture.

_________________"I feel like it's not a real political discussion if I'm not morally opposed to something I don't understand." - ndpittman

thanks for the tip, didn't know the meat(less) subs from VSSTD used TVP.

The recipe calls for vital wheat gluten too.

We have recently made the smokey curls using soy curls from vegan diner and made BLTs with them. We also made the beefy cheesy Mac from hearty meals which calls for tvp. We just started using tvp and my husband loves it as well. :)